Aquarium of Genoa with kids

Over the first spring long weekend we went to Liguria to enjoy the mild climate and the sea air, precisely to Imperia at the Villa Giada resort, while planning our weekend child-friendly (our “gnome” is two and a half years old) we thought that it would have been interesting also for him to visit the Aquarium of Genoa.

In fact, we were wishing this experience more than him, but in this case, the interest of adults and children coincided perfectly. On Monday morning, we left home for the Ligurian capital and after an hour and a half we arrived in the city and immediately found ourselves stuck in the way to the Aquarium.

The closest car parks were all busy and we thought “what are we going to do now?”, but we were hijacked at the great fairground parking, which was free, where we easily left the car and with a free shuttle bus we reached the main entrance of the Aquarium of Genoa. It was already lunch time, so we decided to take the tickets, grab something and then start the visit, which usually takes three hours (just for the aquarium).

We have to say that it was the first time we decided to move without the stroller and the choice was right mainly for two reasons: because it would have been more complicated to approach the tanks due to the great number of visitors, and overall because the gnome would not have enjoyed the experience of seeing, just some inches from his nose, these wonderful marine creatures. We must admit that our little baby is a walker and he never asked to be hold during all the visit to the Aquarium.

The visit of the Aquarium of Genoa with kids is a wonderful experience for parents like us. Their enthusiasm for what they see and discover allows us to become children again and marvel with them at this interesting aquatic world, with over 70 ecosystems and almost 12,000 exemplars coming from all the seas of the world; also a terrestrial one, where a tropical garden with a Central American forest is reproduced, with tropical plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles and colourful butterflies; and with a visit to the National Museum of Antarctica, to discover this continent still unexplored.

An interesting experience for children from 4 to 12 years is to participate in a guided tour that goes behind the scenes of the Aquarium and allows them to visit the labs and to access areas usually not open to visitors. The visit is only available during the weekends and public holidays, as well as in July and August and it is recommended to book as it takes place just two times a day.

We chose the shortest visit, included in the entrance fee, because the gnome is still little, but it is possible to buy a combination ticket (Aquarium village) that allows to enter also Galata Maritime Museum, Submarine Nazario Sauro, National Museum of Antarctica, Biosphere and a panoramic lift.

In the same area of the Old Port, to dedicate the entire day to the fun of the little ones, there is also the City of Children and Guys, a place where you can play and discover science and technology by having fun with didactic workshops suitable for children from 2 to 13 years old.

Our day in the Lantern town was truly wonderful, even if tiring for all the three of us. The experience was so amazing that when the gnome will be a little bigger we will bring him to the Aquarium of Genoa again to see with new eyes the marvels of the sea.